Prospera Financial Services Inc Trims Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Prospera Financial Services Inc lessened its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 86,853 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,665 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $6,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. The trade was a 7.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 160,881 shares of company stock worth $10,693,244 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.36.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO opened at $62.58 on Wednesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $56.96 and a one year high of $73.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $68.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $269.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.86, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Coca-Cola Profile

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.